1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an assistance technique for maintaining a headway distance between a host vehicle and a preceding vehicle. More specifically, the present invention relates to maintaining a headway distance from a preceding vehicle based on a running condition of the host vehicle and providing a haptic signal in the accelerator.
2. Background Information
Vehicle assist systems have been proposed to alert a driver in accordance with a reduction in a headway distance, and assist in the maintenance of headway distance. In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2005-8147, it has been proposed to alert the driver of the reduction in the headway distance by increasing the reaction force of the accelerator in accordance with a reduction in headway distance.
In view of the conventional headway maintenance assist systems, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved vehicle headway maintenance assist system. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.